Marker light



, Oct. 15, 1968 R. R. ROSSI MARKER LIGHT Filed July 14, 1967 F I G. 3.

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'FIG.

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INVENTOR ROBERT R. ROSSI F I G. 9.

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,406,375 MARKER LIGHT Robert R. Rossi, Audubon, N.J., assignor to Arrow Safety Device Company, Mount Holly, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 14,1967, Ser. No. 653,451 4 Claims. (Cl. 339-176) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A molded plastic backing member is provided with a pair of integrally molded supporting members receiving conductive metal U-shaped clips for holding and delivering current to an incandescent bulb. Each supporting member is provided with a post, and both posts support a plate, which is held in place by expanding the ends of the posts. The plate prevents the clips from spreading apartwhen the bulb is inserted and removed. Slots provided in the supporting members are engaged by ears on the clips to provide further support.

Backgnound of the invention This invention relates to marker and clearance lamps of the type conventionally mounted on the exterior of trucks and other vehicles. In the past, screw-type sockets and bayonet sockets have been used in order to mount bulbs in these lamps, but these type of sockets, while reliable, are costly to manufacture. Where sockets have been formed from clips, careful insertion and removal of bulbs has been necessary in order to avoid deformation of the clips, since removal of a bulb at the wrong angle would ordinarily impart a very large force to the mounting clips, and would cause them to be bent beyond their elastic limit, thus necessitating their replacement.

Summary of the invention In order to overcome the problems inherent in spring clip bulb mounting devices a plate is provided, in accordance with this invention, which allows a degree of deformation of the bulb mounting spring clips necessary for insertion and removal of the bulb, but which limits the deformation of the clips to an extent within their elastic limit. The invention necessitates removal of the bulb in a direction such that the elastic limit of the clips is not exceeded.

The principal object of the invention, accordingly, is to provide a marker or clearance lamp in which a reliable contact is made with the incandescent bulb. It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple and economical construction for marker and clearance lamps. Other objects will be apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description the drawings FIGURE 1 is a front elevation showing the lens of a marker lamp in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the marker lamp;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation of the marker lamp;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the marker lamp with the lens, bulb and plate for preventing deformation of the clips removed;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated at 5-5 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated at 66 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a front elevation of a marker lamp in accordance with the invention with the lens removed, and showing the plate for preventing deformation of the spring clips;

FIGURE 8 is an elevation of an incandescent lamp used in conjunction with the invention; and

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the plate which prevents the clips from being deformed.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, the molded plastic backing member 8 is provided with a pair of bosses 10 and 12, integrally molded thereon, and holes 14 and 16 for mounting screws extend from the front side of member 8 through the bosses. The lamp stands off slightly from the 'body of the vehicle on which it is mounted, and integrally molded standoff posts 18 and 20 provide support for the body of the lamp against vibrational movement.

Elements 22 and 24, which are integrally molded .on the front side of the backing, are arranged to receive metallic contact elements 26 and 28. These contact elements are provided with similarly shaped perforations which are engaged by elements 22 and 24 respectively. The elongation of element 22 prevents rotation of its associated contact member 26 within the interior of the lamp assembly.

Wire 30, which delivers electrical current to the lamp, passes through hole '32, and its stripped end is clamped or soldered to contact member 26, which is prepared in a conventional manner by cutting a pair of parallel slots and bending the parts of element 26 separated by the slots in order to form a passage capable of being crimped and of gripping the stripped end of wire 30 firmly.

The return connection is made through the body of the vehicle, which is connected to contact 28 through the mounting screw which passes through hole 16 and through hole 34 in element 28.

It will be noted that, because the backing member stands off from the vehicle body, wire 30 is not required to pass through the vehicle body, but may run parallel to the body on its outside.

The end of contact member 26 is bent to form a substantially U-shaped clip 36 having three sides, and having a narrowed portion 37 at its opening. A similar clip 38 is formed in the end of contact member 28. Each clip is porvided near its free end with an ear 40 which extends laterally from the edge of the side nearest the free end of the clip.

Members 42 and 44, which are molded integrally with the backing, receive the respective clips, which rest against oblique walls 46 and 48. The open sides of the clips face in a direction oblique to the backing. Ears 40 (shown in FIGURE 4) ride in slots 50, and prevent the clips from being bent at bend 51 in such a way that they are removed from walls 48. This is otherwise likely to occur when the bulb is removed.

Posts 52, which are shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 as part of molded elements 42 and 44, are arranged to receive plate 54, which is illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 9. Plate 54 is molded so that a pair of wedge-shaped elements 56 are formed, and these engage the sides adjacent the free ends of clips 36 and 38 in order to prevent their springing when the plate is in position. Plate 54 is held in position by posts 52 which pass through holes 58 in the plate, and which are either peened or expanded by the application of heat after plate 54 is placed in position.

Bulb 60, which is shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, has its base formed of glass which is molded to provide a pair of flattened portions 62, which are separated by rib 64. Wire loops 66, which form the bulb contacts, pass through the flattened portions 62 of the bulb, and are bent in opposite directions so that they lie against the flattened portions of the bulb base. Indentations 68 are provided on both flattened portions of the bulb 66, and these indentations URES 5 and 6) of clips 36 and 38. The bulb is thus pre-' vented from being jarred loose.

Backing member 8 is provided with a cylindrical threaded portion 72 as shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, and the lamp assembly is closed by lens '74 (FIGURES 1 and 2), which is provided with threads (not shown) which engage threads 72 in the backing.

In the assembly of the lamp, Wire 30 is inserted through hole 32, and is inserted and crimped in contact member 26. Contact members 26 and 28 are positioned over elements 22 and 24, and heat is applied to elements 22 and 24 in order to cause their ends to expand and thereby to hold the contact members .in place. Member 54 is then positioned over posts 52 so that the posts extend through holes 58, and the ends of the posts are caused to expand by heating or peening. The backing member 8 may then be mounted on the vehicle body by mounting screws, and the bulb may then be inserted.

The insertion of bulb 60 results partly in the separation of the two flat sides of each clip from each other, and partly in the separation of rounded portions 37 of the clips. It will be apparent that the bulb cannot be removed by being pulled out in a horizontal direction, and that the bulb must be inserted and removed substantially in the direction in which the openings of the clips face. Members 56 on plate 54 prevent the clips from being spread, and the engagement of ears 40 in slots 50 prevents the clip's from being pulled out of members 42 and 44 when the bulb is removed.

It will be apparent that various modifications can be made to the invention described without departing from its scope as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A lamp comprising a backing member, at least one metallic electrical contact having a substantially U-shaped clip formed in one of its ends, means securing said clip to said backing member, seating means fixed to said backing member and providing at least one wall a gain'st' which rests a side of said U-shaped clip and a bulb having at least one electrical contact held in said clip, wherein the improvement comprises means fixed to said seating means and engaging a side adjacent the, free end of said clip to provide a limit to the degree of spreading of said clip. 2. A lampaccording to claim 1 in which the open end of said U-shaped clip is provided with at least one portion bent inwardly toward the contact of said bulb and in which the contact portion of said bulb is provided with an indentation engaged by said bent portion of said clip. 3. A lamp according to claim 1 in which the open side of said clip faces in a direction obliqueto said backing and in which said means engaging a side adjacent the free end of said clip is a plate fastened to said seating means and having at least one wedge-shapedportion engaging said side adjacent the freeend of said clip. 4. A lamp according to claim 1 in which said side adjacent the free end of said clip is provided with an ear extending laterally from one of its edges and in which said seating means is provided with a slot substantiallyperpendicular to said backing, said slot engaging said ear to permit expansion of said clip but to prevent the pair of adjacent sides of said clip from being disengaged from the walls of said seating means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Apted et al. 339-218 X RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner. I 

